Ms. Zhao Lijie, in her 60s, was a Falun Gong practitioner from Xinbin County, Liaoning Province. She passed away on April 17th, 2014, five days after the police arrested five practitioners who were helping her at her home.
Witnessing Arrest and Confiscation of Six Practitioners
Local police broke into the home of Ms. Zhao Lije, who was bedridden, around 9:00 a.m. on April 12th, 2014, and arrested five practitioners who were taking care of her. They were Ms. Ma Siyuan, Ms. Huang Xiangrong, Ms. Liu Mingzhen, Ms. Tu Lijuan, and Ms. Ma.
The police ransacked Ms. Zhao's home and confiscated a computer, 1,000 yuan1, and Falun Gong books and materials.
Another practitioner, Ms. Zhang Xianmo, showed up at Ms. Zhao's home while police were still there, and they arrested her also.
The six practitioners' homes were also ransacked on the day of their arrests, and they were taken to a basement in a building. Ms. Tu Lijuan was released because of poor health. The others were transferred to the Nangou Detention Centre.
Ms. Zhao collapsed after witnessing the arrests and passed away five days later.
Bedridden Due to the Persecution
Ms. Zhao's husband, Mr. Zhang Wenge, also a practitioner, passed away on March 18th, 2005, as a result of the persecution. She was unable to bear the loss and her health deteriorated dramatically, making her extremely weak and finally bedridden.
Many local practitioners voluntarily came to her home to take care of her over the years and shared with her.
Family Suffered from the Onset of the Persecution
Ms. Zhao; her husband, Mr. Zhang Wenge; and her daughter, Ms. Zhang Cong, also a practitioner, went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong in September 1999. They eluded police for six days, but were discovered and arrested.
Mr. Zhang was taken to the Sanhe Detention Centre in Hebei Province. The police confiscated his Falun Gong book, a mini-tape recorder, and 3,000 yuan.
Ms. Zhao was taken to the Sanhe Communist Party School.
Ms. Zhang Cong, who escaped while she was detained in a hotel in Tianjin, was found and arrested again. She was beaten during the interrogation.
Later, all three were taken to the Fushun City's Liaison Office in Beijing where they were handcuffed with their hands behind their back for three days before being escorted back to the Xinbin Town Police Station. Mr. Zhang was forced to pay the cost of the trip for everyone.
Zhang Zhongfa, director at the Xinbin Town Police Station, interrogated them. Then, they were taken to the Xinbin County Detention Center. An officer slapped Mr. Zhang in the face several times.
After the family was held for over a month, their relatives asked that they be released. They were told to pay for the bail, but since they only had 1,500 yuan, they had to give their house as a deposit to be released.
Mr. Zhang Passed Away Because of Torture
Police from the Fushun Domestic Security Division arrested Mr. Zhang at a practitioner's home in December of 2000. He was taken to the Fushun Forced Labour Camp.
He was physically and mentally tortured for over a month. As a result, he came down with his old illness. He became weaker and passed away on March 18th, 2005.
Note
1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.
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